Night of the Year: Skee Mask at the Waiting Room 16th December

There have a whole host of events and nights this year that have been brilliant and made it really hard to pick a particular highlight. A few highlights I feel need mentioning are Josey Rebelle, Beatrice Dillon and Bruce at Hessle’s 10th anniversary at Bussey Building; Kassem Mosse, Nick Klein & Peder Mannerfelt at Find Me in the Dark at Corsica; Helena Hauff every time I’ve seen her; Tornado Wallace at Farr Festival; as well as everyone I saw at Dekmantel Selectors; and I know I’ve missed a fair few more artists that deserve a mention – it has been a fantastic year for music.

Let’s Go Swimming’s recent night at The Waiting Room with Skee Mask earlier this month will take my event highlight this year. A trip to The Waiting Room and to a Let’s Go Swimming night has been long overdue and this was the perfect introduction to both.

The night began with Resident Henry Fry warming things up, and he did it brilliantly, getting the crowd up and perfectly ready for what Skee Mask had to unleash. Skee Mask then played an extended set till closing and showed off his talents – a must see for everyone at some point in my opinion. He kept the intensity of the night high whilst flitting through the genres; keeping the crowd ecstatic throughout the night.

Not only were both DJ’s fantastic throughout the night, but everything seemed to come together brilliantly. The venue worked brilliantly with Lets Go Swimming’s aesthetic and the crowd was fantastic too – a mention to the people who run Let’s Go Swimming is in order as they seem to have found the perfect balance of creating a bustling crowd without it ever seeming claustrophobically busy. All in all a fantastic night and a thorough recommendation to anyone to go see Skee Mask or to any Let’s Go Swimming event.

Mix of the Year: Bruce @Bussey Building Hessle 10th Anniversary

One of the standout mix’s I’ve been listening to since its release has been Bruce’s set at Bussey Building for Hessle’s 10th Birthday. Again there has been a plethora of mixes this year that I have listened to on repeat but this has been a particular highlight for me.

Maintaining a slow pace throughout the mix made it particularly interesting for me, and Bruce really showed off both his mixing and selecting talents with this mix as he moves through so many different styles of music and plays tunes such as Szare’s Weird Sister and Joe’s Claptrap at 33rpm rather than 45rpm to create an entirely new sound. This mix is proof Bruce deserves far more recognition than he gets.

Next Mantissa Party

Laska & Peach
Tom Allman b2b Jambo

Friday 2nd March 2018
BAR A BAR
London
N16 8BT

Tom Allman and James Acquaye Nortey-Glover showcase a wide range of genres through their mixes, every week brings a little something different. Featuring guest mixes from DJs from around the country and beyond.

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